More on Albert's Beliefs

"It appears dishonest in nature to do what you are doing with his photo and quotes on your blog, especially when you have been told time and again his views are not congruent with your own. How about this quote from Einstein:? 'It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it'" J. G.

In 1945 a Navy ensign wrote to Einstein and said,

"I had quite a discussion last night with a Jesuit-educated Catholic officer . . . He said that you were once an atheist. Then, said he, you talked with a Jesuit priest who gave you three syllogisms which you were unable to disprove; as a result of that you became a believer in a supreme intellect which governs the universe."[1]

Einstein wrote back,

"I have never talked to a Jesuit priest in my life and I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist. Your counter-arguments seem to me very correct and could hardly be better formulated. It is always misleading to use anthropomorphical concepts in dealing with things outside the human sphere--childish analogies. We have to admire in humility the beautiful harmony of the structure of the world--as far as we can grasp it. And that is all."

The Navy ensign answered,

"You say that 'From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, and have always been, an atheist.' Some people might interpret that to mean that to a Jesuit priest, anyone not a Roman Catholic is an atheist, and that you are in fact an orthodox Jew, or a Deist, or something else."

Einstein replied,

"I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth."

It seems that the ensign had rightly interpreted Einstein’s words that from the view of a Jesuit priest, he was an atheist. However, if you want to see prime examples of the quote taken out of context (quote-mining), do a search on atheist websites. A desperate message requires desperate measures.

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[1] http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/2004/nov/raner.php